Pursuit of Hoppiness Imperial Red Ale is brewed to showcase the brash beauty of American hops: Chinook, Centennial and Columbus at 100 International Bitterness Units (IBU). The hops grown in the United States are considered to be some of the best in the world. Compared to their more traditionally subdued, elegant European counterparts, American hops are bold, bright, piney and zesty. This ale is brewed with Idaho 2-Row malted barley and German specialty malts to provide a rich, slightly caramel flavor and bold reddish color. At 22 degrees Plato starting gravity and about 8.5% alcohol by volume, this thick and warming beer is to be shared and savored.

Reviews by dmamiano:

Purchased growler on Hilton Head Island at a place called Growlers.Poured a burnt orange with a creamy tan head and nice lacing.This was one of the special beers....nose was amazing...hoppy goodness. Citris...malts melding together.Taste as well amazing. Great smooth hoppiness...orange...grapefruit...nicely balanced with malts.Not much bitterness.This one was smoooth! (375 characters)

More User Reviews:

Appearance - This is a reddish-brown in color, mostly brown, with a modest head that did though leave some nice lacing.

Smell - This smells like a little bit of everything. The hop profile is very complex and hard to pin down. On the one had you have some stiff PacNW citrus notes but then on the other hand are some mild simcoe aromas. Either way, the brewery name may sound German but this is definitely an American hop profile.

The malts though are just as big. There is a very slight toasty character to the malt profile and I can even pick up some sweetish chocolate. This is very natural-smelling with the promise of big flavors and big body.

Taste - I thought the strong hops and big malts might collide here but this somehow achieves a marvelous balance. The sweet malt comes out big and strong, the hops are grand yet smooth, and everything melds quite nicely.

Mouthfeel - This is a big beer as promised. I wouldn't call it full-bodied but it is pretty darn close. The carbs are thankfully very soft and the beer deftly avoids a harsh bitterness at the finish with the finely-tuned sugars.

Drinkability - This is one of the more drinkable big beers that I've had. It has a very natural feel and taste to it and the brewer did a great job of finding harmony in some big, big flavors. (1,296 characters)

T,M,&D- Here's the let down- body is thin, a little watery. Which increases the gulpability but doesn't lend to the overall experience. Cherry, grapefruit, a little pine, but needs more malt and more bitterness and finish. It's gone before you know it's there. Granted, it hides the 8.5% very well, it just doesn't do much for me. The pursuit continues. (463 characters)

750ml bottle, bottled on 12/07/10. Pours a hazy reddish amber with a medium frothy off white head that quickly goes to a thin film that leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is sweet tropical fruits and some resiny hops and a little caramel malt.

The flavor is sweet nutty caramel and crystal malt with tropical fruits and a bit of grassy bitterness that does stick out a little in the aftertaste. As it warms, the hops start to overpower the sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and pretty watery.

Overall, a nice imperial red. It's a bit much on the sweet side for me and rather watery - but still nice. (610 characters)

Right away you can tell this beer is bottle condition, as I poured it into my .5 Liter mug a whole lot of tiny bubbles started to form slowly and gain momentum enough to provide a think three fingers of lace. Reddish amber color is pretty damn clear, no hop haze or floaties at all. Orange rind and tobacco, perhaps a little bit of leather from the hop nose ... small kernel of toasted grain and nutty yeast when sniffing a little deeper. Extremely smooth with a solid medium body. Hops and malt battle it out from start to finish. Hop bitterness grows a little more with each sip and the alcohol sneaks in warmth as well. Maltiness tries hard to fend off with toasted bread and caramel flavors. Hops drive hard with citric and mint. Peach fruitiness in the bitter sweet finish.

A love big reds, especially reds that have a ton of hops and the malt to back it up. Very nice ... (929 characters)

The beer pours orangish-brown with a white head. The aroma is lots of caramel malt with some nice hop character. The flavor is a great mix of caramel malt and piney hops. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. This is only my second beer from these guys, but I have been very impressed with the two I have tried. (359 characters)

Pursuit of Hoppiness opens with an aroma that nicely befits the name, being bright and full of citrusy, lemony, piney, grapefruit notes from the hops, which slightly tickle the nose in their citrusy bitterness. A healthy malt base, full of brown sugar, vanilla, biscuit, orange, and berry aromas, complements the hops. The aromas as a whole are well balanced and enticing, none overwhelming the beer, and the slight stickiness around the bottle's mouth promises excellent viscosity and quality of brew.

On the tongue, the beer opens in good IPA-like style, with a huge and immediate hit of hops, which bring pine, grapefruit zest, lemon, dandelion stem, mint, and eucalyptus notes, as well as a good dose of bitterness from the 100 IBUs. The hops are so well-balanced and crafted that, despite their intense flavors and bitterness, they still allow a good amount of malt sugar to break through, providing a base of orange liqueur, berry, toast crust, brown sugar, and fresh whole wheat bread. The beer is tilted very much in favors of the hops, however, and this continues into the aftertaste, which consists mainly of the dandelion stem, grapefruit rind, and lemon rind hop notes, with some brown sugars and oranges left over, and lingers for some time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium to medium-high.

Overall, this is a great Imperial Red Ale, showcasing an excellent range of hop and malt flavors, and being largely well balanced--at least, as well balanced as a 100 IBU hop monster can be. The hops do overly dominate the aftertaste, of course, and tend to slightly detract from the sugars in the main mouthful, but I doubt many hopheads will protest too much. Very much worth trying. (1,705 characters)

Nice to see imperial red ales, they're a rarer style, and this is a stronger one at that. Poured into becker pint glass; deep garnet/ruby with a thin off-white head that fades fast but leaves nice delicate lacing. Smell is floral hops, with some yeasty bourbon-like booziness, probably from the bottle-conditioning. Taste is awesome; smooth and sweet up front with lots of clean malt, moving suddenly into huge bitter and floral hops, with a hint of alcohol (not much though, for 8.5%). Bottle-conditioning definitely mellows the booze out, and this one has a nice clean mouthfeel and wet finish, leaving a slight lingering bitter aftertaste. I'd love to try this stuff fresh. Next time I'm near Idaho I guess... (713 characters)

Came across red, carbonation was definitely not a problem, wasn't a gusher, but it definitely was excited to get out the bottle. Head didn't amount to much or stick around long. Aroma was less red, more dipa on the caramel and sweetness tip.

Taste, less hoppy than expectations were, being that it was called pursuit of hoppiness. Not a fail by any means. This is really one of those line blurs when it comes to style. A little bit red, dipa, strong ale, whathaveyou. Sticky.

Price was just too much for what you get, there's a lot better investments, this was like $11 for a liter. (584 characters)

Fresh growler served in a Sweetwater pint glass. Pours crystal clear and quite reddish, with a large frothy beige head. Head has very good retention and leaves sticky lacing on the sides.

Massive hop aroma, with a bit more pine than citrus. The flavor is more fruity and surprisingly mild; not actually mild but not the harsh/bitter hop hammer the nose led me to expect. Nor does it seem possible this is a 100 IBU beer or one with over 6%, let alone over 8%, ABV. There's a solid toasted caramel malt base that tames the hops and adds to the richness.

M: medium-full body; near medium carbonation.

O: an outstanding imperial red that has the aroma of a DIPA but is highly drinkable. Higher ABV is well hidden in both taste and feel, though it does appear in the nose. (771 characters)

Smells of smooth caramel malts with large amounts of pine and floral hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though the hops are a bit more restrained. Mildly dry caramel malt flavors up front are joined quickly by pine hops. Midway through the hops turn more herbal, carrying through to a moderately bitter ending. Mouthfeel is very good, with grainy carbonation.

Overall this is a solid beer for one of my favorite sub-styles, the hoppy amber. Well worth a shot. (614 characters)